(a) Field of the Invention
The embodiments of the present invention relate to a plasma display panel in a plasma display device, and more particularly, to a plasma display panel in a plasma display device that is capable of effectively blocking a path of noise around an exhaust port and an exhaust tube.
(b) Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, a plasma display panel (PDP) is formed from a front plate and a rear plate that are sealed to one another to hold a discharge gas inside. The front plate includes a front substrate, display electrodes formed on a rear surface of the front substrate, a dielectric layer covering the display electrodes, and a protective layer formed on the dielectric layer. The rear plate includes a rear substrate, address electrodes formed on a front surface of the rear substrate so as to intersect the display electrodes, a dielectric layer covering the address electrodes, barrier ribs formed on the dielectric layer to divide discharge cells and a phosphor layer formed in the discharge cells.
The PDP is driven by sequentially generating an address discharge, a sustain discharge and a reset discharge. Specifically, when a sustain pulse is applied to display electrodes, an electrical field is formed between the display electrodes and the address electrodes in the discharge cells. The discharge gas is excited to a high-energy plasma state by the electrical field and is then stabilized to a low energy level to generate ultraviolet rays. The ultraviolet rays excite the phosphor layer to a higher energy level. The phosphor layer is then stabilized to a low energy level to radiate visible rays. As a result, a desired image can be generated.
The above-mentioned PDP has an exhaust port and an exhaust tube located on one side of the rear substrate. The exhaust port and the exhaust tube are indispensable to the process of evacuating air from the sealed area inside of the front plate and the rear plate and to the process of completing the seal of the plates after injecting discharge gas into the interior space. The exhaust port and the exhaust tube secure a passage in the PDP through a dummy region, that is, a terminal connecting region formed between a display region that displays images and an interconnection region that connects electrode terminals to a connector.
When a PDP having the above-mentioned structure is driven, a natural frequency of the plasma display panel resonates with the frequency of a driving signal that is applied to the display electrodes from a driving circuit. This resonance results in the generation of noise. The noise is amplified by the exhaust port and the exhaust tube that are formed on one side of the rear substrate.